BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Free Report) TSE: CNR by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,781 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,517 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $13,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 29.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,300 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $10,820,000 after acquiring an additional 21,100 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,962,972 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $464,002,000 after purchasing an additional 202,303 shares during the last quarter. Partners Group Holding AG grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 406,066 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,571,000 after purchasing an additional 56,849 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter worth about $134,096,000. Finally, Sterling Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 36,279 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 5,329 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised Canadian National Railway from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Canadian National Railway from $130.67 to $126.29 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Canadian National Railway currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.86.

Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Canadian National Railway stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $111.12. 973,308 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,122,296. Canadian National Railway has a 12-month low of $105.28 and a 12-month high of $134.02. The company has a market capitalization of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $112.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI - Get Free Report) TSE: CNR last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 23.62% and a net margin of 31.65%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian National Railway Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.6108 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Canadian National Railway's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.26%.

Canadian National Railway Profile

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail, intermodal, trucking, and marine transportation and logistics business in Canada and the United States. The company provides rail services, which include equipment, custom brokerage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services, such as temperature controlled cargo, port partnerships, and logistics parks.